Shoe



'- ,March 14,1944.

H. A. SCHWARTZ SHOE Filed. Oct. 6, 1941 IIl'IIlIIlIlIIIl/a /IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII LL eni @MIM/ Patented Mar. 14, 1944 ENT OFF-ICE a Harold A. Schwartz, Philadelphia, Pa. Application October 6, 1941, Serial No. 413,871

1 Claim.

for mens, womens and childrens footwear, and particularly to laced shoes of either the high or low type.

Experience teaches that a person will wear out two pairs of shoe-laces, or more, during the normal serviceable life of a pair of shoes. Experience also teaches that the shoe-laces frequently break at a time or place when or where replacement laces are not available, for example, while dressing upon arising from a berth in a railway sleeping car.

One object of the invention is to provide a shoe with a built-in compartment in the heel for reception of a spare shoe-lace container, and which will be accessible only from the inside of the shoe.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the compartment and the container that the upper side of the container will lie in the same plane as and form a planar continuation of the upper surface of that portion of the insole of the shoe which extends over the area of the heellifts, to provide a smooth, fiat, even surface for support of the heel of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to conceal the compartment, and the container filling the compartment, beneath the sock lining which is normally adhesively secured to the upper surface of the insole of the shoe, so that the shoe, to the casual observer, presents exactly the same interior and exterior appearance as an ordinary shoe of the same type.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the container that the marginal edges of the upper planar portion thereof will be supported around the entire periphery of the container, and that the center of the upper planar portion of the container will be supported directly from the base of the compartment, to maintain the planarity of the top surface of the container against sagging under the weight of the wearer as transmitted to the container top by the heel of the wearer of the shoe.

The construction of the novel shoe and spare lace container of the present invention will be fully disclosed hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the heel portion of a shoe constructed and arranged in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view of the spare lace and the preferred form of container therefor; and

, r 01.- 36-1) This invention relates to avnovel construction Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 illustrate modified forms of containers, enlarged.

In accordance with the present invention, a

cavity l is formed in the inner surface of and extends substantially through the insole 2, over the heel-lifts 3 of a shoe, under the leather sock lining 4, for the reception of a spool, box, or other container 5 for a spare shoe-lace .r. q Preferably, the shoe-lace container 5 is in the form of a spool, as shown in Fig. 2, and includes a. pair of fiat disc-like heads 6 and 1, respectively, with a central spindle 8 rigidly connecting the two heads or discs 6 and 1.

The central post or spindle 8 may, if desired, be provided with a transverse opening 9 into which the tips :2 x of the lace a: may be inserted, after which the lace a: is wound flatly and firmly on and around the post 8, between the heads 6 and 1.

Normally, one of the discs, the disc 1 for example, rests on the base surface ID of the cavity I, with the top surface of the other disc 6 flush with the upper surface ll of the heel portion of insole 2 of the shoe. The inner leather lining 4 may be cemented or otherwise detachably secured to the surface I l and the disc 6, to provide an absolutely smooth surface for the heel of the person to rest on, and thus completely obscuring the extra shoe-lace and its container.

The post 8, in extending from the lower disc to the upper disc, supports the weight of the person at the center of the cavity I, and prevents sagging of the disc 6 at its center.

The upper disc 6 may be, and preferably is, slightly larger in diameter than the lower disc 1 and the cavity l, and the upper portion of the cavity I is counter-bored to provide a shoulder or seat l2 to support the peripheral edge of the disc 1 in addition to the central support provided by the post 8.

If desired, the discs to and la may be the same diameter, as shown in Fig. 4, and the annular shoulder I 2, (Fig. 1) is then eliminated, the cavity la being of equal diameter from base to top.

If desired, the spool may be composed entirely of metal, as shown in Fig. 3, with the post 8d riveted to the discs 6d and 1d. The post may be of wood, as shown at 8b in Fig. 5, with the discs 6b and 1b composed of wood, metal, cardboard, etc., and adhesively secured to the ends of the post 8b, which may also be composed of wood, vulcanized fibre, etc.

As shown in Fig. 6, the container may be in the form of a box 50 with the post 80 secured to the lid 60, for example, or to the base in lieu of the lid. In either case, the opposite ends of the post 80 bear on the inner sides of the bottom 1c and lid 60 to support the weight at the center of the lid 60. Theannular side wall L20 supports the weight around the periphery of the container.

If desired, the spool may be molded in one piece of light weight metal, such as aluminum, hard rubber, modern moldable plastics of the synthetic resinous or cellulose derivative types.

When it is necessary to use the spare lace ac, access to the cavity I is readily obtained by merely lifting the heel lap portion of the sock lining 4, or its equivalent as found in different shoes, to remove the container 5, from which the lace :c is

then removed. The empty container 5 is then reand the lap 4 replaced there is. no objection to placed in the cavity I thereover. Normally,

lifting the heel lap 4, as the adhesive originally employed is usually in a tacky state, when the shoe is in use, andwill lift easily and willagain adhere firmly after the lapis returned .to position.

Usually the insole 2 of .a shoe is approximately the same size andeontour'as the outer sole I3 and the two are coextensive throughout, from toe to heel of the shoe. The heel-lifts 3 are usually nailed to the heel portion of the outer sole I3. The; combined thicknesses: of the insole 2 and outer sole I3, atthe heel of the shoe, are sufiicient to accommodate a container of sufficient outer sole I3 at the time and as a part of the stamping operation. However, the cavity I may be provided at any time during the manufacture of the shoe or after the shoe has been completed; and in a shoe having a thin insole and outer sole, the cavity may extend down into the lifts 3,

if necessary.

I claim:

A shoe comprising a solid heel, a sole including a rear portion overlying said solid heel, a receptacle removably mounted in a cavity formed in said rear portion of the sole above said heel, said receptacle including upper and lower plates substantially flush with the upperand-lower surfaces respectively of said rear portion of the sole, and a rigidcenter post intermediates'ald plates and transmitting pressure applied tosaid upper-plate to said heel underlying said receptacle, said upper plate being of relatively larger diameter than said cavity and resting on an annular shoulder formed in said rear .portion' ofthe sole below said upper surface thereof to support said upper plate adjacent its'peripheral edge;

HAROLD A. SCHWARTZ. 

